Jackson, a 47-year-old Democrat and the son of the civil-
rights leader, was charged today in federal court in Washington
with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud
and making false statements. Jackson intends to plead guilty,
one of his lawyers, Brian Heberlig of Steptoe & Johnson LLP,
said in an e-mail.

“Over the course of my life I have come to realize that
none of us are immune from our share of shortcomings and human
frailties,” Jackson said in an e-mailed statement. “Still I
offer no excuses for my conduct and I fully accept my
responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes I have
made.”

Today’s charge, which has a maximum term of five years in
prison, caps months of legal maneuvering that include Jackson’s
resignation from office in November and his treatment for
depression at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Jackson’s wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson, was charged in a
separate case with filing false tax returns. She faces a maximum
penalty of three years in prison.

William Miller, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen
in Washington, declined to comment on the charges.

Jackson’s wife will plead guilty to one count of tax fraud,
her lawyers, Dan Webb and Tom Kirsch of Winston & Strawn LLP,
said in a statement.

“Ms. Jackson has accepted responsibility for her conduct,
is deeply sorry for her actions, and looks forward to putting
this matter behind her and her family,” according to the
statement.

Jackson, who ended a career of almost 17 years in the U.S.
Congress by resigning in November, won a special election for a
vacant House seat in 1995 and began serving on Dec. 12 of that
year. He subsequently never garnered less than 81 percent of the
general-election vote in his district on Chicago’s South Side
until last year when he won a 10th House term with 63 percent.

His wife resigned her Chicago alderman seat last month.

Jackson was a national co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and an advocate of traditional Democratic
Party constituencies. He pushed to maintain government support
for the poor, including welfare, assistance for heating bills
and the Head Start early education program.

Jackson was caught up in the scandal surrounding former
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s attempts to sell an
appointment to Obama’s former Senate seat. Identified in court
papers as “Senate Candidate 5” who was willing to raise money
for the governor’s re-election, Jackson denied the allegations
and said he wasn’t a target in the federal probe.

Blagojevich was convicted in June 2011 and sentenced to 14
years in prison.

Prep School

Educated at the elite Washington prep school St. Albans,
Jackson graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in
1987. He earned a master’s degree in theology from Chicago
Theological Seminary and a law degree from University of
Illinois College of Law.

Before entering politics, he worked as the national field
director of the Rainbow Coalition, the group founded by his
father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.

The case is U.S. v. Jackson, 13-cr-58, U.S. District Court,
District of Columbia (Washington).